Young Skaters in D.C. Plane Crash 'Likely Felt Closer to Their Olympic Dream' Than Ever, Evan Lysacek Says (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

As a group of young figure skaters left Wichita, Kan., late on Wednesday, Jan. 29, they “likely felt closer to their Olympic dream than they ever had before,” 2010 gold medalistEvan Lysaceksays.

Certainly that’s how Lysacek himself had felt when he was that age, rising through a sport that he would eventually dominate.

“Sadly now, those skaters' Olympic dreams and each of their bright futures beyond figure skating will never be realized,” Lysacek, 39, tells PEOPLE, adding to the chorus of grief overWednesday’s plane disaster— when the passenger jet carrying the skaters and dozens of other people collided, mid-air, with an Army helicopter just before the jet was supposed to land in Washington.

All 67 people on both crafts are believed to have died.

Among themwere children and teenagers, young professionals, parents, coaches, agroup of friends, the flight crew andthree soldiers.

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“Beautiful souls have been lost, tremendous talent has been lost, bright futures have been lost, dreams have been lost,” Lysacek says. “This is devastating on every level. Our skating community mourns with the families of all the victims.”

The cause of the crash, the deadliest in decades in the U.S., remains under investigation.

The figure skating communitysuffered unique losses: Around a dozen of the passengers on the American Airlines flight were returning from an elite training camp in Wichita, which just hosted the U.S. Figure Skating Championships.

“Like so many, I can’t stop thinking about the victims of this unimaginable tragedy,” Lysacek says. “Proud parents, husbands and wives, siblings, friends, brilliant professionals, beloved sons and daughters… and the amazing young skaters.”

Evan Lysacek (left) and Christine and Spencer Lane, who were killed in the Wednesday, Jan. 29, plane crash in Washington, D.C.Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Courtesy Lane Family

Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Courtesy Lane Family

“My heart breaks as I think of and relate so much to these promising young skaters and their parents,” Lysacek says. “I remember clearly the excitement and optimism that I felt after one of these camps, like the one that these skaters had just completed.

“I imagine that these skaters went to sleep every night dreaming of one day standing on a World or Olympic podium with a medal around their neck,” he continues. “They woke up every morning, before sunrise, ready to push themselves to their limit and dream their Olympic dream.”

But no future Olympian dreams alone, Lysacek says.

“Those dreams, and the dedication that comes with them, extend to their parents and families,” he says. “Parents, who love them, support them in every way, drive them to the skating rink before dawn, watch them fall thousands of times in order to learn new skills, and dust them off so that they can try again; cheer them up when they’re discouraged, encourage them when they want to give up, cringe with nerves when they compete at center ice, and embrace them with love and warmth whether they win or lose.”

A bitter part of the tragedy is that it occurred so soon after the sweet taste of success — “the pride that they [the parents] must have felt to see their son or daughter doing what they love, skating alongside the nation’s best in Witchita,” Lysacek says.

From left: Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov with son Maxim (center).Evgenia Shishkova & Vadim Naumov/Instagram

Evgenia Shishkova & Vadim Naumov/Instagram

The crash victims included coaches Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, 1994 world champions, whose son Maxim had competed in Wichita but was not on the flight with them on Wednesday.

“Evgenia Shishkova and Vadim Naumov were glorious skaters and great champions; they were beautiful people; they were coaches at the highest level; and they were proud parents,” Lysacek says. “Their talent and spirit live on in their exceptional and gifted son, Max.”

As many have noted, Wednesday’s plane crash has echoes of a tragedy decades ago that killed the entire U.S. figure skating national team.

“We have never forgotten those victims,” Lysacek says, “and continue to honor them.”

source: people.com